


Dead Man's Hate

by BudBrock



Series: For Family [3]
Category: Disney Duck Universe, DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Halloween, Inspired by Poetry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:28:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27283441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BudBrock/pseuds/BudBrock
Summary: The kids bite off more than they can chew when they decide to go investigate a paranormal activity during Halloween....and a full moon.
Relationships: Dewey Duck & Huey Duck & Louie Duck & Webby Vanderquack
Series: For Family [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1934386
Comments: 5
Kudos: 25





	1. When the Bell Tolls

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the poem of the same title by Robert Ervin Howard

_They hanged John Sparrow at dawn, amid the marketplace. At dusk came Adam Brand to him, and he spat upon his face._

_"Ho neighbors." Spake Adam Brand, "See ye John Sparrow's fate!" Tis proven here, a hempen noose is stronger than man's hate._

_For heard ye not John Sparrow's vow to be, avenged come life or death? See how he hangs high on the gallows tree. Yet never a word the people spoke, in fear and wild surprise. For the grisly corpse raised up it's head and stared with sightless eyes._

_With strange motions, slow and stiff, it pointed at Adam Brand and clambered down the gibbet tree. The noose within it's hand. Mouth agape stood Adam Brand like a statue carved of stone. Till the dead man laid a clammy hand hard on his shoulder bone._

_Men fled before the dead or shrank with bated breath and they saw on the face of Adam Brand the seal set there by death. He reeled on buckling legs that failed, yet on an on he fled. All through the shuddering marketplace the dying fled the dead._

* * *

Huey looked back at his brothers. Why they insisted on walking behind him he didn't know. Louie by himself wasn't suspicious, but Dewey and even Webby were all hanging back and talking with each other. He ignored them for the most part. There was nothing wrong with what they were doing. As long as the night went according to plan, then he was a happy Woodchuck.

"Psst, hey Hubert." Dewey said right behind his ear. Huey jumped slightly at the closeness.

"What do you want, _Dewford_?"

Dewey ignored his brother's irritation. "Webby was telling us about this awesome haunted graveyard. We gotta check it out."

Huey refrained from rolling his eyes. "You do realize when Webby says haunted, she means an actual _haunted graveyard_ right?"

"That's why it's so perfect." He grabbed Huey by the shoulders and swept his arm across the air, staring at something only he could see. "Just imagine it. We bring home the most amazing story ever! Daring scrapes! Spooky ghouls....we almost didn't make it out on time.....we had to leave Louie behind!"

"Wait, _WHAT_?!" Louie protested from behind them.

Webby laid her hand on his shoulder. "He's just being dramatic. We wouldn't leave you behind."

Huey frowned and brushed Dewey's hand from his shoulder. "We have a strict schedule to keep tonight. If we want to achieve maximum candy gain and be back at the manor in time, we can't deviate from the plan."

"Come on. Don't you wanna go on an adventure with us? Imagine how cool it would be to see a real ghost."

Huey gave him a deadpan look. "We live with a ghost. I believe his name is Duckworth." He turned and kept walking down the street.

"Yeah, maybe. But he's a nice ghost, if we check out the graveyard we might get to have a harrowing encounter!" Dewey practically skipped as he kept pace with his brother.

Huey rolled his eyes this time. "You're trying to impress mom again aren't you."

Dewey was quiet for a moment. "So what if I am? Mom and Uncle Donald used to have all sorts of adventures just like this! Why can't we?"

"They didn't always have them by choice. Trouble just finds them. We, however, have a choice and I for one would like to have a quiet, _normal_ Halloween."

Dewey was angry at being shut down so quickly and was about to argue when Webby jumped in. "You're right, we do have a choice. But wouldn't it be some much fun to discover the history behind the cemetery? We could investigate why it's even haunted in the first place."

"It _would_ ," He begrudgingly admitted. "But I've already planned tonight out..."

"Exactly." Louie jumped in. " _You_ have the evening planned out. Since when have any of us gotten a say in any of _your_ plans."

"That's because you all go off and do whatever you want anyway. My plans ensure that if something goes wrong, I know how to fix it and keep it from happening again."

"Which is precisely why we need you." Louie put his hand over Dewey's mouth to keep him from talking. If they wanted Huey to go then they were going to let Louie bait the hook. "Your innate knowledge of the Junior Woodchuck Guidebook and all of our past adventures is _indispensable_. We can't go without you."

For extra precaution, he made sure to give his brother his best sad eyes and in 3...2...1...

"Fine." Webby and Dewey high-fived. "But if something goes wrong I am dragging all of you out of there, and we will be back to the mansion on time."

Dewey waved him off. "Yea sure, whatever. Which way to the spooky graveyard Webby."

* * *

"Why are we at the park?" Dewey turned to Webby confused.

"That's the creepy part! They were doing some digging to expand the park and found that it was actually built on top of the cemetary!" She squealed in excitement. "They had to shut down the project because 2 workers went missing and a third went crazy talking about the Hanged Man."

"Question." Huey raised his hand. "When you said "missing"....."

Webby turned to him with her flashlight aimed at her face. " _They were never heard from again_."

"Welp, this is not worth your candy Dewford. I'm going home." Louie turned to leave.

"Wait!" Webby called out. "I'll let you pick all of your favorite candy from my bag."

Louie kept walking. "No thanks."

"I have Cherry Pep."

Louie paused. Then he turned around and came back. Webby pulled a can from her bag and handed it to him. Huey hummed in thought.

"How long have you two been planning this?"

Dewey adjusted the purple hat on his head. "Since we saw the first report in the paper."

"Then why are we doing this now? Why did you wait for so long?"

"Pft, duh." Webby scoffed. "It's a full moon, on a Halloween. If anything supernatural is going down here, it most definitely will be going down tonight!" She pulled a crowbar from her backpack. "And we're ready for anything. To the graveyard!"

Dewey followed Webby as they ran full sprint toward the outskirts of the playground. They easily hopped over the caution tape that was strung between the trees warning people to stay out.

Louie shrugged and started off after them.

Huey took a good look around and tugged on his Gizmo costume a bit. There was a chill in the air all of a sudden and the feeling of eyes watching him made his skin crawl. He tried to shake it off, but the feeling decided to linger. His gaze searched the area in an effort to reassure himself. Street, building, swing set, see saw, creepy figure by the old oak tree, slide....

His heart rate spiked and his eyes darted back to the oak tree, to see if he could spot the dark looming figure, but it was gone.

"Hey." Huey jumped a foot in the air at the sound of Louie's voice. "You coming?"

"Yeah." It took more effort than he wanted to pry his gaze away from the tree. "I'm coming."


	2. Hangman's Curse

As they walked through the sparse trees that sat beside the playground a strange, thick fog rolled in suspiciously fast. Almost as if it was sealing them in, like a trap.

Huey nervously wrung his hands together while Louie unconsciously pulled his hood over top of his hat. Well, Huey's hat. They hurried their steps to catch up with Dewey and Webby.

The caw of a black bird had them jumping. Their eyes darted around the suddenly endless wood. Louie clung to his older brother as they both wondered where on earth the other two had gone. They couldn't have gotten that far ahead of them, could they?

Huey took a deep breath to try and calm down. It was just fog, that's all, nothing to be afraid of. He took another deep breath and then released it slowly. Then another and ano- why could he see his breath?

"Huey?" Louie whispered. "Why is it so cold all of a sudden?"

The chill in the air didn't just stop at their breath. They could feel it crawling up their spines and settling into their bones causing their teeth to chatter as they huddled closer to each other. This was definitely strange.

"What could be causing this?" Huey wondered aloud and pulled his guidebook from his under his hat. "Fog, freezing temperatures..."

"Uh, Huey?" Louie stared wide eyed as a dark figure appeared between the trees.

"Ghost? Banshee? Poltergeist? Maybe, but we would need more evidence..."

"Huey." Louie leaned further into his brother at the sight of a mangled corpse. It's head sitting on it's shoulder at an unnatural angle.

"We walked in here so ill-prepared. I wish Webby would stop springing things like this on us.."

"Huey." He grabbed his brother's arm and shook it, hoping it would shake him out of whatever thoughts were hogging his attention.

"I'm serious Louie, would a heads up be asking for too much?"

He could see it more clearly now, it's steps making no sound as it came closer. The sparrow's clothes seemed old and were torn from years wandering the woods here silently. It's waistcoat pocket was ripped, allowing a pocket watch to dangle from it. Rhythmically it swayed back and forth to the hanged man's steps with a faint, swish...swish.

"Huey." Louie dragged his brother with him though his beak was still stuck in the Guide Book. He just kept dragging him along, backing up to get away.

Usually by now he would have screamed and ran, but something about the Hanged Man's black eyes rooted him in place. That and the rope he held in his hand. If they suddenly took off, would he still catch them using the rope?

Louie's eyes widened in realization when he saw that the rope the corpse was holding was just the long end of the noose on its neck. And as if things couldn't get any worse he had backed him and his brother into a tree. At least it finally made Huey look up from his book.

Huey made a strangled sound in the back of his throat. "Louie." He whispered harshly. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I tried!" They stared for a moment as the corpse seemed to pause and somehow shift it's non-existent gaze from Louie, to Huey. "What does you dumb book say to do about this?!"

Huey clutched his Guidebook to his chest. He could hear his blood rush in his ears as his heart raced. The corpse tugged on his rope creating slack as he lifted it over his head.

"RUN!"

You didn't have to tell him twice. Louie took off like a bullet to his left, chest heaving with the exertion. He crashed through low branches and bushes the only thing on his mind was getting away. It would most definitely explain why he didn't see Dewey until he ran him over.

The impact had both ducklings going head over heels. They rolled across the ground until a tree painfully stopped their momentum. They both groaned and rubbed at their respective bruises.

"Wait!" Louie jumped to his feet. "Where's Huey!?"

His brother had been right behind him, right? Louie scanned the area around him as Webby helped Dewey up. All he could see was fog, shadow's and trees. What happened to Huey? Did...did the Hanged Man....?

"Louie!" Webby waved her hand in front of his face. "Louie, what happened."

Louie stared at the woods in horror. "I-I....I don't know."

* * *

Huey took off to the right at the same time Louie did. He only made it a few steps before he felt a rope, rough from age and frayed, grab at his feet and trip him. He hit the ground hard enough to see spots. His homemade helmet fell down over his eyes blinding him.

He would have screamed at the feeling of a hand grabbing the back of his costume, if another one hadn't clamped his beak shut first. Huey writhed and wriggled desperately trying to get away from the corpse. He could smell it now, the smell of rotten flesh, decay and death.

His struggles died in lieu of his gagging fit at the overpowering stench. Not to mention he still couldn't see. Huey wondered if it was possible for a person's heart to run away without them.

The iron grip the corpse had on him was unyielding and the longer the monster held on to him the more his mind wandered. What did this thing want with him? He didn't kill him out right, so why did he grab him? Was he going to eat him? Was he kidnapping other children? Was he going to use him as some sacrifice in a demonic ritual!? WHAT WAS GOING ON!

Huey began hyperventilating as his thoughts raced. He was so caught up in theory's he didn't notice the corpse putting him down. That is until the hand that was on his beak released it to pull his hat up and off his eyes.

The sight that greeted him froze him to the core.


	3. One Down, Three to Go

"What do you mean you don't know?" Dewey asked, confused. "Where's Huey?"

Louie tightened the drawstrings on his hoodie and tried not to hyperventilate. Huey had been right behind him, right? His brother would come charging into the clearing they were standing in any second now...any second now.

"Any second now Huey!" He called out to the wood around them. The only thing that answered was the wind rustling the leaves in the trees as it blew.

"Louie," Webby asked quietly. "What happened?"

"He was right behind me, at least I thought...we ran into the Hanged Man and yes, he really was hanged. He still had the noose to prove it." Dewey grew excited but Webby could tell something was wrong.

"That is so cool. Which way is he?" Dewey jumped around rearing to go and completely missing the point.

"No!" He yelled. "Not cool! Nowhere even remotely close to COOL! Huey was supposed to be behind me and since clearly he isn't that means he's either lost out there in the woods somewhere or..."

Dewey lost his steam when he finally noticed how freaked out Louie was. Which wasn't something new, but Huey being gone...

"Or what?" Dewey asked uncharacteristically quiet. He frowned when his little brother wouldn't answer him. "Or what Louie?"

Louie turned to him with a guilty look on his face. "Or the walking corpse got him."

Webby scoffed. "As if. You guys are part of the McDuck family; you're seasoned adventurers. A haunted corpse is no match for you guys."

Louie frowned. "While I appreciate the confidence I do not appreciate being suckered into adventures where we don't even have weapons to defend ourselves! You could've at least brought something for the rest of us!"

Webby looked confused for a moment. "You mean my crowbar?" She giggled. "I always carry this around."

Louie sighed in exasperation. He felt like smacking himself, of course Webby carries around a crowbar. He made a mental note to at least start carrying a knife on him from now on, clearly it would come in handy.

"So," Dewey said suddenly. "What do we do now?"

"That's easy." Webby hefted her crowbar over her shoulder. "Louie shows us where it grabbed Huey and we follow his trail from there."

"Wait, Huey's trail or the creepy corpse guy?" Dewey asked.

"Or, and this just a thought," Louie pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I try and call Huey first to see if he's in trouble at all and if he's not then we can all call it a night and go home."

"Awe," Webby shuffled her feet and Dewey crossed his arms, but thankfully neither of them argued

They gathered loosely in a huddle listening to the phone ring. They all held their breath wondering if Huey would answer.

"LOUIE!" Huey's voice cut into the line abruptly. They all yelled back at him. "You found Dewey and Webby?"

"Never mind that, WHERE ARE YOU?!" His fingers hurt from grasping his phone.

".....I-after yo-HANGED MAN-stench is-SACRIFICE!" Huey's voice cut in and out terribly.

"Wait! Slow down and repeat that last part." Dewey said, loud and slow.

"HANGED MAN GRABBED M-THERE'S A-STUPID L-HELP ME-........."

"Huey?" Louie tentatively asked. "Huey!?" He stared at his phone and tried calling again, but it wouldn't go through. He hung up and tried again. Then he tried Uncle Donald, still nothing. He had full bars, so why weren't his calls going through?

"COME ON YOU STUPID...UGHHGGH!" He resisted the urge to throw his phone. It was still useful as a source of light and right now that seemed to be his only comfort. That and Webby's kick butt skills and the G...

"Uncle Donald I love you so much!" Louie fell to his knees in sweet relief.

"Uhh, care to share?" Dewey asked, confused as he stared at Louie.

"Uncle Donald had Fenton tag all our phones with GPS trackers. You know, just in case." He pulled the homemade app Fenton had made for them up on his phone. He had nearly forgotten about it.

"That's great! Now we're talking!" Webby pumped her fist and danced around as if readying for a fight.

"Alright, that way." Louie pointed to a particularly dark section of the woods. "Let's go get Huey back. And hopefully not die."

Louie was going to cash in so many guilt trips for this little excursion. He pulled the can of Pep from his hoodie, cracked it open and took a sip. Curse you weakness for Cherry Pep!

* * *

They walked and walked.....and walked. Dewey had asked how much further, which was a dumb question because how was he supposed to know? Louie focused on his phone and made sure Dewey kept up. Webby focused on their surroundings, making sure that nothing would sneak up on them.

"Guys?" Dewey grabbed Louie's arm. "Was there always a spooky ghost town here?" Louie and Webby followed where Dewey was pointing.

Sitting in a strange and almost ethereal lighted clearing was a village. The area seemed to glow a faint sickly green. The buildings, the street.......the people, all looked as if they were holograms playing a live movie.

Webby squealed with delight and ran straight for the town with a shout. Brandishing her crowbar, she swung at the ghosts viciously.

"Wait!" Louie tried to stop her. She paid him no mind and he and Dewey ran after her.

It was as if they had stepped back in time. They emerged from the woods and into what was once a quaint little settlement. Even the cobblestone street was green like everything else and not actually there. He and Dewey's feet went right through it whereas the ghosts walked on top, as if it were solid.

They caught up to Webby who had thankfully put her crowbar down. She was standing in the middle of the street and watching the ghosts with a disappointed frown.

"Webby?" Dewey asked.

"I can't touch them. I can't even get them to see me. It's as if they're not even ghosts, they're just apparitions going about their day as if they're not even dead. Watch." She lifted her crowbar and swung at a lady walking by with a baby carriage.

The crowbar went straight through both mother and child and neither took notice of the ducklings.

"They don't even flinch!" Webby complained.

Dewey hummed and experimentally stuck his arm out and into a passing lady's skirt. She phased through his arm without batting an eye but Dewey retracted sharply with a yelp.

"It's cold! Definitely real ghosts." He blew on his hands and rubbed them together for warmth.

"So, why can't they see us?" Webby wondered aloud.

"Maybe it's an illusion?" Dewey offered.

"Whatever it is can wait. We have a brother to rescue, remember?" Louie waved his phone at them.

"Right, I'll leave a trail so we can find our way back here." Webby exclaimed.

"Um," Dewey started uncertainly. "I don't think you'll have to."

"Why?" Webby walked back toward the brothers, who were looking at Louie's phone.

"I can't find Huey's signal. It's gone."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What I wanted was a four part thriller.....not the ten chapter suspense that it has become...


End file.
